Still being considered a major gamechanger for future mobility, it has to be acknowledged that autonomous driving (AD) technologies haven’t achieved their market break-through so far. The market introduction of AD follows more a “step-by-step” approach rather than a “big bang” and the use cases for introduction are rather precise and small than holistic and broad.

    The on hand article concentrates on the AD branch “autonomous people- and goods-mover” and elaborates on the perception system of an autonomous vehicle referencing the concrete technology platform “AutBus”. Based on a conventional Volkswagen T6.1 this prototype vehicle was developed for public transport specifically in rural areas.

    After a short introduction the concrete Operational Design Domain (ODD) in “Neubäu am See” and its specific challenges with respect to AD are introduced. Subsequently the Sensor and Hardware Setup integrated in the AutBus as well as the sensor test facility, where the sensors and the complete vehicle are tested and validated are described.

    The core of the article becomes apparent in the evaluation of Lidar perception in adverse weather conditions respectively in different rain intensities and fog visibility ranges. The optimization of AD sensorsystems in adverse weather is a prerequisite for an all-day use of autonomous vehicles in public transport. The analysis clearly demonstrates, that the influence of fog on lidar perception is significantly higher than the influence of rain. Additionally it seems, that small rain rates with finer rain drops might be affecting lidar beams more than higher rain rates with thicker drops.

    The AutBus received the official „Testing approval“ on public roads from the German „Kraftfahrbundesamt (KBA)“ holding the official Type approval number 3. This means, the technology platform “AutBus” was the third AD-vehicle in Germany that received this „Testing approval“ with respect to the latest legislation formulated by the “Gesetz zum Autonomen Fahren” (GAF). A safety driver is always on board and can take control of the vehicle by touching one of the actuators (steering wheel, brake- or acceleration pedal).


    Access

    Check access

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    The AVL prototype vehicle “AutBus”: Autonomous public transport in adverse weather conditions


    Additional title:

    Proceedings


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    International ATZ Conference ; 2024 ; Bamberg, Deutschland April 09, 2024 - April 09, 2024


    Published in:

    Automatisiertes Fahren 2024 ; Chapter : 4 ; 33-42


    Publication date :

    2024-07-27


    Size :

    10 pages





    Type of media :

    Article/Chapter (Book)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    German




    Determination of Changes in Autonomous Vehicle Location Under Adverse Weather Conditions

    KAMINITZ YAAKOV | European Patent Office | 2023

    Free access

    Improving Object Detection and Classification for Autonomous Vehicle in Adverse Weather Conditions

    Maruthiram, Katroth Balakrishna / Reddy, G. Venkata Rami | IEEE | 2024


    Object Detection of Autonomous Vehicles under Adverse Weather Conditions

    Arthi, V. / Murugeswari, R. / P, Nagaraj | IEEE | 2022


    BENCHMARKING IMAGE SENSORS UNDER ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING

    Bijelic, Mario / Gruber, Tobias / Ritter, Werner | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2018


    Benchmarking Image Sensors Under Adverse Weather Conditions for Autonomous Driving

    Bijelic, Mario / Gruber, Tobias / Ritter, Werner | IEEE | 2018